Sucker-rod extractor



April 15 1924.

I H. E. BROWN SUCKER ROD EXTRACTOR Original Filed Sept. 15 1920 2 SheeLsr-Sheet 3 Patented Apr. 15, 19241..

- pairs stares eater earns one.

HARRY E. BROWN, OF CHICORA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTERN IRON & FOUNDRY COMPANY, OF WICHITA, KANSAS.

SUCKER-ROD EXTRACTOB.

Application filed September 15, 1920, Serial No. 410,548. Renewed February 26, 1924.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY E. BROWN, a cit zen of the United States, residing at Ch1cora, in the county of Butler and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Sucker-Rod Extractor, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in sucker rod extractors, that is tosay, extractors for raising sucker rods out of oil, salt or other wells when the rods have parted and left a portion thereof in the tubing of the well, the object of the invention being to generally improve the structure of devices of this character and to provide an extractor that is adapted for gripping rods of difierent sizes and which is a great time and labor saver and is comparatively simple in construction and highly efficient in operation.

With he foregoing and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and combination of parts which will be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

In the drawings accompanying and forming part of this specification,

Fig. 1 is a vertical section of an extractor constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan view thereof, on an enlarged scale;

Figs. 3, 4, 5 and 6 are cross sectional views taken respectively on the lines 3-3, 44, 55 and 6-6 of Fig. 1; and

Fig. 7 is a bottom plan view of the de vice.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts inthe different figures of the drawings.

The extractor in the present instance comprises a cylindrical body or ball socket head 2 provided at its upper end with a threaded extension 3 adapted to be engaged by the interiorly threaded end of a sucker rod. The, head 2 has formed therein a pair of longitudinally extending openings 4 and 5, aportion of the wall of the opening or socket 4 having serrations 6 formed thereon to provide a gripping surface. The opening 5 is bored from the upper end at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the wedge-shaped head and extends into communication with the opening or socket 4 near the lower end thereof. A pair of balls 7 are seated at the bottom of the opening 5, the intersecting walls of the openings 4 and 5 on either side of the balls extending sufiiciently toward each other to retain the balls in the opening 5, but allowing them to project into the opening or socket 4, as shown in Fig. 4. The balls are retained in the bottom of the opening 5 by means of a cylindrical piece of steel or other suitable metal 8, which is urged forward under the action of a helical spring 9. A plug 10, provided with an angular head 10', is threaded into the upper end of the opening 5 and is adapted to bear on the opposite end of the spring, thereby placing the same under tension.

A tubular member or shell 11 is adapted to be threaded on the lower end of the head 2, and carries within it a sleeve 12 slidable therein, said sleeve being provided at its upper and lower ends with a shoulder 13.

Between the upper end of the sleeve 12 and the lower end of the head 2 a helical spring 14 is'normally compressed, thereby tending to force the sleeve 12 downward in the shell 11. Within the shell is secured a bushing 15 that is so located as to abut against the shoulders 13 at opposite ends of thesleeve 12, thereby limiting the sliding movement of said sleeve. Secured in any suitable manner,as for instance by means of a screw, to the sleeve 12 adjacent its. lower end is a so-called spear 16, having a shoulder 17 formed at its lower inner end and tapered or at its outer lower end, as shown at 18, Fig. 1., The spear is formed of spring metal and constantly tends to spring inwardly of the shell 11. The shell has formed therein a slot 19, see Fig. 5, for the reception of the spear when forced outwardly, the lower end wall of the slot being also tapered to correspond with the taper 18 of the end of the spear, whereby when the spear is forced outwardly its outer side wlll be flush with the outer circumference of the shell, as shown in Fig. 1, and the sleeve 12 is thus maintained in elevated position against, the tension of the spring 14. For

normally retaining the spear in this position, I provide a trip sleeve 20 adapted to slide within the shell and having a shoulder .21 formed thereon adapted to abut against ice shank of the sucker rod and firmly the shoulder 17 of the spear and thereby retain said spear within the slot 19 of the shell. The shell is provided near its extreme lower end with a shoulder 22 secured in any suitable manner as for instance by means or a screw, to the interior wall of the shell at a point diametrically opposite to the shoulder 17 on the spear.

In the use of the device described, when a rod breaks the operator can, by examining the broken oil part, determine whether the shank has parted. and in such case it is only necessary to send the ball socket head after it. This is accomplished by unscrewing the shell 11 from the lower end of the head, and upon lowering the head into the well the broken shank of the sucker rod remaining in the well will project into the socket a of the head and contact with the balls 7 and the serrations 6 on the side wall of the socket, the cushioning spring 9 permitting the balls to slide backward suflicientlv to permit the easy upward movement of the shank. When the head is pulled upward the balls become tightly wedged against the p the game between themand the serrations 6 on the wall of the socket 4, so that the rod can be pulled up out of the well. If the rod has parted at or near the enlarged portion or joint thereof, however, it will be necessary to send the shell after it. In this case the shell is screwed on the lower end of the head and the entire device lowered into the well. When the lower end of the shell meets the broken rod the latter will pass up through the shell and engage the trip sleeve 20, and as the lowering of the shell continues the rod will push this sleeve upward, thereby releasing the lower end of the spear from the tapered end wall of the slot 19, whereupon the spear will spring inwardly and the spring 14. acting on the upper end of the sleeve 12, will force said sleeve and thereby the spear downward until the shoulder 17 thereof arrives opposite the shoulder 22 at the lower end of the shell, whereupon the rod will be firmly gripped between these shoulders, the upward pull of the extractor serving to wedge the shoulders tightly against the rod.

For the purpose of getting strength in the tool without danger of expanding or bulging it in the tube and at the same time getting the necessary strong grip on the pump rod, 1 have placed the recess or socket 4 off center as shown thus to leave a thick wall to hold the ball and spring and prevent the wall from bulging back of the ball. The opposed wall of the socket 4 is relatively thin but as it engages the longitudinal sur- 'face of the rod the pressure from the rod is distributed over a large area and the thin wall will be ample to properly hold the rod engaged by the ball.

While I have described in detail the structure herein illustrated, it is to be understood that I do not thereby limit my invention to the precise features of construc tion shown, as I am aware that many mechanical changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what 2. A device of the class described including a head having an eccentrically disposed longitudinal socket extending thereinto from one end, said socket having an open end and provided with a wall of varying thickness, there being an inclined opening in the thickest portion of the wall of the socket, the opening and socket converging toward the open end of the socket, contacting balls movable freely within the opening, spring means within the opening for holding the balls normally pressed into the socket, said balls constituting means for frictionally engaging a sucker rod inserted into the socket, thereby to hold the rodagainst withdrawal from the socket.

3. In a device of the class described a head having an eccentrically disposed longitudinal socket extending thereinto from one end for receiving the shank of a sucker rod. the wall of the socket being of varying thickness, there being an inclined opening within the thickest portion of the wall of the socket, said opening and socket converging toward the open end of the socket, superposed contacting balls loosely mounted within the opening, and adjustable spring pressed means within the opening for thrusting the balls normally into the socket for wedging engagement with a sucker rod shank in the socket thereby to prevent withdrawal of said shank from the socket.

4. A device of the class described, comprising in combination, a head, a shell threaded on the lower end of said head, a sleeve slidable in said shell, a stationary shoulder carried by said shell, means for limiting the sliding movement of said sleeve, a spear secured to the lower end of said sleeve and adapted to normally lie in the plane of the side wall of said shell,

weasel 3 means for retaining said spear in its normal In testimony that I claim the foregoing POSltlOIl and for permitting its release at as my own, I have hereto affixed my slgna- 10 a predetermined time, said spear having a vture 1n the presence of two Witnesses.

shoulder projecting therefrom a stationary shoulder secured to the shell, and means for HARRY BROWN causing the sliding of the sleeve on the re- Witnesses:

lease of said spear thereby to bring the A. H. HILL,

shoulders into gripping relation. M. HAWKINS Srrns. 

